Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly- Vanadzor Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Armenia 2013 Report Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly - Vanadzor Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Armenia 2013 Report Vanadzor 2014 Authors: Artur Sakunts Vardine Grigoryan The report was published with the financial support of the Sigrid Rausing Trust Foundation in the framework of General Support Grant to HCA Vanadzor. The content of this report reflects the opinions of the authors and may not coincide with the views of the funding organization. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................ 7 General Context ...................................................................................... 9 Overview of Defending Human Rights ................................................ 16 Implementation of Recommendations by the UN SR on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders about Armenia ............................................. 28 Implementation of recommendations to the Government ............ 28 Implementation of recommendations to the Office of the Human Rights Defender ............................................................................ 37 Implementation of recommendations to human rights defenders . 41 Recommendations by HCA Vanadzor to the Armenian Government .. 44 Follow up on 2011-2012 Cases ............................................................ 45 D.I.Y. bombing ............................................................................. 45 Arman Veziryan ........................................................................... 45 2013 Cases ............................................................................................ 46 Case 1: Peace-building training for teachers ................................ 46 Case 2: Narine Esmaeili and Artak Hambardzumyan ............... 46 Case 3: Marine Petrosyan and Nouneh Arevshatyan.................... 48 Case 4: Marine Kharatyan and Gayane Saribekyan ..................... 48 Case 5: Marine Martirosyan and Hripsime Jebejyan .................... 49 Case 6: Tsovinar Nazaryan ........................................................... 50 Case 7: Student strike .................................................................. 51 Case 8: Inauguration Day ............................................................ 52 Case 9: Vardges Gaspari, Chief of Police 1 ................................. 53 Case 10: Hakob Karapetyan ........................................................ 53 Case 11: Tamara Yayloyan ........................................................... 54 Case 12: Karen Harutyunyan and Ruzan Grigoryan .................... 55 Case 13: Hripsime Jebejyan, City Council Elections ................... 56 Case 14: Lyuks Stepanyan ............................................................ 56 Case 15: Vardges Gaspari, Harsnakar .......................................... 57 Case 16: Vardges Gaspari, Chief of Police 2 ............................... 58 Case 17: Vardges Gaspari’s house ............................................... 59 Case 18: Misak Hambardzumyan ................................................. 59 Case 19: Henrik Navasardyan ...................................................... 60 Case 20: Large protest by the City Hall ........................................ 61 Case 21: Tents .............................................................................. 62 Case 22: Against paid parking ...................................................... 63 Case 23: Karen Harutyunyan’s car ............................................... 64 Case 24: Shoghik Melkonyan ....................................................... 65 Case 25: Women’s Resource Center ............................................ 66 Case 26: Tigran Khzmalyan and Anushavan Grigoryan .............. 67 Case 27: Anushavan Grigoryan .................................................... 67 Case 28: Flash-mob: first attempt ................................................ 68 Case 29: 5 Komitas: Argishti Kiviryan ........................................ 69 Case 30: flash-mob: second attempt ............................................. 72 Case 31: Mihran Margaryan and Babken Ter-Grigoryan ............. 73 Case 32: Mkrtich Tonoyan ........................................................... 74 Case 33: Apprehended for sleeping .............................................. 75 Case 34: Artur Sakunts ................................................................. 76 Case 35: Vardges Gaspari’s cell phone ........................................ 76 Case 36: Protest against Custom’s Union ..................................... 77 Case 37: Arman Aleksanyan ........................................................ 78 Case 38: Elderly woman injured................................................... 78 Case 39: Haykak Arshamyan and Suren Saghatelyan .................. 79 Case 40: Participation in the city council meeting prevented ....... 79 Case 41: Activists’ cars destroyed ................................................ 80 Case 42: Volodya Avetisyan ........................................................ 81 Case 43: Closed Market ................................................................ 82 Case 44: Mothers of deceased soldiers ......................................... 83 Case 45: Activists prevented from participating in the City Council Meeting ......................................................................................... 84 Case 46: Shant Harutyunyan et al ................................................. 85 Case 47: Khudoyan family ........................................................... 87 Case 48: Putin’s visit .................................................................... 88 Case 49: Gor Arakelyan ............................................................... 90 Case 50: Christmas Lights ............................................................ 91 Case 51: Gas deal on the agenda .................................................. 92 Case 52: Gas Deal approved ......................................................... 93 Case 53: Defamation charges against Gaspari .............................. 94 Case 54: Taron Margaryan’s Doctoral Thesis Defense ................ 94 INDEX .................................................................................................. 96 About HCA Vanadzor .......................................................................... 97 Introduction In 2013, together with the Armenian members of South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor (HCA Vanadzor) published a report on the situation of human rights defenders in Armenia in 2011-20121. The report compiled cases of intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders. The current report summarizes information on the situation of human rights defenders in 2013 and a follow-up on some of the cases presented in the report for 2011-2012. The report includes implementation of commitments undertaken by the Republic of Armenia, including, the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders on Armenia issued in 2010. The year of 2013, was marked with Serzh Sargsyan’s unilateral decision on Armenia’s accession into the Custom’s Union and refusal to initial the Association Agreement with the European Union. Refusal to initial the Association Agreement interrupted the reforms human rights and democracy and created uncertainty among civil society about the future of democratic processes. How democratic processes will proceed, what value system will be promoted with the new agenda of the authorities, and where that will leave civil society in terms of participation in decision-making, are yet to be understood. The practice of restriction and intimidation of civil society in the member countries of the Customs Union, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, has become a state police. Meanwhile the increase of harassment of activists in Armenia is a clear indicator of the Armenian government’s adoption of a similar position toward civil society. 1 Situation of human rights defenders in Armenia in 2011-2012, http://hcav.am/wp- content/uploads/2013/02/Report-English.pdf 7 Due to the specificity of the violations against human rights defenders in Armenia in 2013, the report may be of interest not only to the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, but also to the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Assembly and Association. Some parts of the report have been jointly submitted with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Partnership for Open Society to the UN Human Rights Council, 21st Session of the Universal Periodic Review in 2015. The report should also be of interest to the Armenian authorities and the RA Ombudsperson responsible for the implementation of recommendations by the Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, international and regional organizations as well as other human rights commitments undertaken by the Republic of Armenia. The report is based on media reports, information provided by partners, and other materials, which were publicly available in 2013 and 2014, as well as information received through official inquiries from state and local authorities. HCA Vanadzor would like to thank those partners, who assisted in compiling information for the report to apologize if any incident was left out of the report and will readily add omitted relevant information if it is brought to our attention. For the purposes of